Musings from the Week and a Recipe for Hoppin John

Today, I'm sharing my musing from the week. It's been an extremely busy week (more than usual) and I need to get started cooking for our pot luck. Every year on New Year's Day, we attend a pot luck hosted by good friends. Usually, I bring the Hoppin John (the black eyed peas in the dish represent coins, for wealth and good luck) and there are collard greens (the greens represent the dollar bill), fat back (for good luck), as well as the best macaroni and cheese and so many other things. We spend the first day of the year with people we love eating fabulous food. Keep scrolling down for my recipe for Hoppin John.

Mr. Crazy took these pictures yesterday after we got back from having lunch. I love this Cabi camel sweater and have worn it in so many different ways. The addition of this faux fur vest completely changed the look of the sweater and added some much needed warmth.

I also wanted to include this picture that I snapped with my phone last night. It's a black eyed pea salad that my sister brought for dinner and it was so good! The recipe came from a new cookbook called Deep Run Roots by Vivian Howard. My sister went on about how great this cookbook is so of course, I am going to order it! I can't wait to try some of the recipes and share them on the blog.

Here is my recipe for Hoppin John. It's a simple black eyed pea stew that is a traditional recipe eaten for good luck in the south. It is a delicious combination of vegetables, garlic, black eyed peas and rice. You certainly don't have to wait for New Year's Day to make this because it's great any time of the year! I hope you enjoy!